Koran Persia 1796 (1)

This is a from an illuminated Koran, Persia, 1796, on laid paper (190 x 110 mm.). There are seventeen lines of neat black naskh script within a gold frame, text area 145 x 80 mm., sura headings in red thulth on gold grounds within blue, gold and polychrome panels, most sura headings in blue within a gold cartouche and blue and gold paneling, Juz' divisions in red thulth on gold cartouches; marginal medallions in gold with red script and blue and red highlights. Verso: seventeen lines of neat black naskh script, sura headings in red thulth on gold grounds within blue, gold and polychrome panels, most sura headings in blue within a gold cartouche and blue and gold paneling ; marginal medallions in gold with red script and blue and red highlights. Condition of this leaf is Fine [F].

The colophon reads "written by the slave, the sinner, the scribe Ibn Muhammad Ibrahim Muhammad al-Husni", and dated AH 1212 (AD 1796). The format of this Koran and color scheme are very close to that of another eighteenth century Koran in the Khalili collection, published in M. Bayani, A. Contadinin and T. Stanley, The Decorated Word, Oxford 1999, pages 166-167 item 55